Happy Monday, everyone! Hope your weekend was good and the first touches of fall have leaves beginning to change.
Some news to share! Pride, Abcynians Book 2, is available free for a limited time at Amazon for Kindle. As with Persuasion, Book 1, Redemption, Book 3, Scandalous, Book 4, and the finale, Valiance, it’s also available at Kindle Unlimited. If you like reading on a Kindle or Kindle app, check Pride for free!
A little about Pride, featuring Dante Luciano, the adopted son of the Abcynian king, and Rhiannon, the oldest daughter of Sir Brandon and Judith Matthews, who has been missing and presumed dead for years:
Pride: The Abcynians, Book II Plagued by headaches and memory loss after a life-threatening injury, Rhiannon has spent years confined behind the walls of a decrepit castle. When a loathsome earl attempts to earn her favor with an extravagant painting, she is inexplicably drawn to its depiction of an ancient, mythical race. Believing the Florentine artist could be the key to unlocking her past, she and her maid escape, hoping to enlist his aid. Upon reaching the Piazza della Signoria months later, she is unaware that the handsomest man amongst the lavish merchants is the one she seeks. Dante Luciano is considered the most renowned artist of his time. His patrons are wealthy and powerful. His charm and prowess with women legendary. Yet, as the adopted son of the king of his kind, he must guard his secrets. For he possesses the heart and soul of a panthera prince, therefore, able to shift into a lion. Taken by the discovery of a rare Abcynian female nearby, he recognizes her as his destined mate. Discovering Rhiannon is stricken with debilitating pain, he takes her home, providing the remedies, protection, and knowledge she needs to survive. While she heals, they fall in love, beginning to plan a future together. However, when her memory returns, imminent danger looms. It’ll take all of Dante’s abilities and the Abcynians to save Rhiannon from a vicious, beastly foe.
Hello everyone! Hope you’re continuing to enjoy the summer and are staying safe wherever you are. As you may be aware, I’ve a new release coming soon! In anticipation for the finale of The Abcynians series, complete with an epic showdown, I thought it would be fun to introduce you to Mary Campbell and Isabelle Patterson, both widows who become best friends and are united in providing a safe home or place to work for women in the West. Readers of the series may remember meeting Mary in Scandalous, The Abcynians Book IV, as she was introduced as an Abcynian Guard and upstairs maid for the Duke and Duchess of Arrington, but ended up becoming an integral member of the Blakemore family when Nicholas and Regan adopted her. At the time, she was a teenager, but she’d caught Valiant Montgomery’s eye way and he left England to do right by her and search for his missing father. Ninety-five years later, she has a teenage son and runs a boarding house and a newspaper in Dare, Arizona.
Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Isabelle became vehemently opposed to slavery and took to donning men’s clothing to help those who were enslaved to escape to the North. After some adversity and the loss of her husband to a debilitating illness, she moved to Dare to look after her brother and sister. She’s also turned Gabriel Blakemore’s world upside down.
To learn more about Mary and Izzy, check out an excerpt:
To Mary Campbell, winters in Dare reminded her of early spring in Boston. Tonight, it felt like summer, as she was busy in her sister-in-law’s kitchen baking a groaning cake, something she’d sworn she would never do when her sister Hannah was born. Back then, her mother had been the Duchess of Arrington and the expectations of her had placed both her and the baby in life-threatening danger.
Thankfully, Papa saved them, but the joy of her sister’s birth was tragically followed by unprecedented losses for Abcynian kind, forcing them to flee to America where they’d learned to endure, press on, live, and love.
In her case, she’d married Major William H. Campbell, a Union hero and fellow Abolitionist. Thinking on it now, she would like to say her wedding day was as joyful as the birth of their only son, but her husband left the house for another’s bed thereafter, and she knew their marriage had been a lie. A truth she’d never told anyone except her best friend.
“What the devil?” Izzy called out, stomping into the kitchen as if Mary had conjured her out of thin air. Turning, she found her friend in a tan cotton shirt, blue denim pants, scuffed boots, a sun-bleached Stetson, and a long, brown leather coat that she could’ve taken from her oldest brother’s closet.
“Izzy! So glad you’ve come. Did you bring Ginny and Jack with you?”
“They’re in the barn with Will,” she said, removing her coat, hat, and gun belt before spinning a chair backwards and taking a seat, her arms across the top rail for support. “Why are you baking while Sarah’s having a baby?”
Grinning, Mary lent back against the dry sink. “It became a family custom when my sister Hannah was born.” No sooner than she’d explained, a terrible cry broke overhead, along with threats to Michael’s manhood.
“Good God, if labor sounds that bad to us, how difficult is it for her?” Izzy asked, the worry on her face palpable.
“Giving birth was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but having Will, watching him grow from a newborn to the young man he is becoming has been worth it.”
“All I know is that my brother’s lucky to have Will as his best friend. Wish he’d take a moment to realize Ginny’s pining for him. If he did, maybe it’d be enough to keep Wyatt Powell from tipping his hat to my sister the next time he comes to town.”
“Michael and Pembrook spoke to him the last time that happened. I don’t think it’ll be an issue anymore.”
“Maybe so, but if he tries anything more with my sister, I’ll use my shotgun.”
“And I’ll be right beside you if he does.”
“What kind of cake did you make? It smells as good as your pigheaded big brother whenever he comes to town to play faro.”
“You think Gabriel smells like fruitcake?” Mary asked, laughing. “Wait until he learns that.”
“Don’t you dare tell him, Mary! I mean it.”
“As your friend, I can do nothing more than honor your wish. Still, I suspect it’s the spiced rum and cinnamon that reminds you of him. I’m curious, Izzy. Do you ever hear his voice, here?” Tapping her temple, she waited to see her answer.
“You mean like your gift with mirrors and ghosts?”
“Yes.”
“Once, I could’ve sworn I heard him say he wanted to dunk me in a water trough when I’d ridden by him on Gypsy. As I’d been in a hurry to fetch the doctor, I didn’t need the reminder that I smelled like a privy.”
“You did not!” Mary objected.
“I was branding cattle when Ginny fell out of a tree and hit her head!” Izzy contended. “There wasn’t time to wash or put a saddle on my mare.”
“Did you tell Gabriel about your sister?”
“No, dealing with him is like barkin’ at a knot. How long does labor take, anyway?” Izzy asked, as Sarah continued to cry.
“Every woman is different. When I delivered Will, I’d had contractions for most of the day and didn’t give birth until three in the morning. Sarah, on the other hand, delivered Caleb a few hours after her water broke and Abigail was born two weeks earlier than expected while she and Michael were having dinner at Silverwood. Didn’t even wait for Dr. Hastings to reach the ranch house.”
“Hell, remind me of that when Gabriel comes home. Where is he, anyway?”
“Sailing with my dad’s business partner, Adrian Montgomery. They’re searching for his older brother, Valiant.”
“Valiant? Were his parents as fond of reading stories about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as I was as a kid?”
“Not that I’m aware of, but his name does seem gallant, doesn’t it?”
“I can picture him around that giant table with Galahad and Lancelot, whom I used to pen stories about when I still believed in fairy tales. I tell you true, I’ve been thinking about writing again.”
“You should, Izzy. Maybe we can work together to publish them. I’ve got the printing press and we can talk to Mr. Hopkins about selling them in the general store or we can offer them alongside newspapers.”
“You amaze me.”
“I do? Why?”
“We both know that your husband dishonored your marriage repeatedly. Except for the night we emptied a bottle of wine and bared our souls, I’ve never heard you speak ill of anyone, not even Wyatt Powell.”
“Believe me, William’s sins were many, as I am certain Wyatt’s are, but getting angry doesn’t assure that my son has a roof over his head and clothes on his back.”
“That makes sense,” Izzy replied. “I do wonder what Valiant meant to you, my friend. I’ve never seen you light up the way you did when you said his name.”
“He was my first love. My only love,” Mary revealed.
“You must tell me more,” her friend urged, her green eyes flashing with curiosity.
“When we first met, I was very young and naïve, yet to me, he was beautiful, with a crown of long wavy golden-blond hair, eyes like an amber sky, his skin golden, as if touched by sun gods.”
“Damn, kinda reminds me of someone, save for the color of his eyes.”
“Gabriel, maybe?”
Izzy dropped one of her arms to the table, wrapping the wood with her knuckles. “He’s a burr under my saddle who likes to roar at me!”
“Gabriel roared? Aloud or in your mind?”
“I’m not sure. It sounded very much like that white tiger that was part of the circus that came to Dare last summer.”
“Izzy, do me a favor,” Mary suggested. “If you ever hear him in your mind again, reply in kind.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’ve told you of my Abcynian ancestry, right?”
“You and your family came to America due to religious persecution, much like the Quakers or Pilgrims.”
“That’s right, but Abcynians have certain gifts, including mind-to-mind conversations that no one else is aware of. I suspect you and Gabriel share this gift.”
“Can I threaten to dunk him in the stream for staying away for so long?”
“Try offering an olive branch and see where it leads, instead.”
“Can’t promise anything other than I’ll try to be nicer. Come, tell me more about Valiant Montgomery, please,” Izzy urged, tapping the chair next to her.
“Oh, Izzy, he was everything to me very quickly, but he was the equivalent of a crown prince,” Mary said, crossing the room to take a seat, trying her best not to flush as she had when she’d first met Valiant.
“A prince? What happened to him?” Izzy inquired. Her concern genuine.
“Valiant received word that his sisters and their husbands were in danger and his father had gone missing. As the King’s heir apparent, he’d done the honorable thing by going to his family’s aid, only to disappear himself.”
“Like hell. Why?”
“The simplest explanation is a longstanding feud between the Abcynians and the Saturians.”
“Were Saturians like you and your family?”
“Similar, yes.”
“Might I ask how long Valiant’s been gone?”
“Since Hannah was born.”
“Twenty-five years?” Izzy pronounced, surprised.
More like ninety-five, but that’d be a little much to explain while Sarah was in labor upstairs.
Welcome back readers! I hope this post finds you well, especially after such a difficult year due to the pandemic. I’ve big news to share, my next book, the finale of The Abcynians series, is coming soon! Currently, it’s in the hands of my editor for preparations needed to release it across various vendors, including Amazon, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, and a lot more! Stay tuned for a release date.
That said, I’d thought I’d share a book teaser and an excerpt. And, of course, the FABULOUS cover.
Hailed as demigods from a fallen realm Abcynians and their panthera guardians protected humankind. Over the centuries, perpetual war with their malevolent adversaries exacted a heavy toll, forcing Abcynians to evolve, becoming monarchs, warriors, lords and ladies, artists and voyagers. Centuries later, war between the Abcynians and Saturians has crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
Cast into the belly of an enemy’s ship to die, Valiant Montgomery seeks absolution for failing to keep his promise to Mary Ainsworth, the pretty maid fated to be his queen. Needing a miracle, he prays she is somewhere safe with a family of her own. He never expects his prayer to be answered, much less to be rescued by a crew of Abcynians. When he discovers the Saturians used his marquisate to stage the slaughter of his species and left his father for dead, he questions if he is worthy of his beloved.
Gunslinger Gabriel Blakemore returned to privateering to search for his sister’s lost prince. Relieved Valiant is found alive, he realizes the heir to the Abcynian throne has a hard row to hoe and invites him to put down roots in Dare, Arizona. In truth, however, he can’t stop thinking about his feisty neighbor, Izzy Patterson, and worries his nightmarish past might frighten her away.
During the voyage to America, Valiant and Gabriel form a pact, vowing to reunite with the women they love and new ally Caine Sinclair promises to heal Lucien Montgomery’s shattered soul. Once home, Valiant and Mary fulfill their fate and Gabriel wins Izzy’s heart. All the while, a malicious foe threatens to unleash unimaginable losses upon their families and townsfolk of Dare. To save them, the destined King and Crown Prince must lead the Abcynians into a showdown between good and evil…or humanity itself will become extinct.
Chapter One
South Pacific Ocean—January—1881
Deep in the belly of a prison ship reeking of rotting corpses, Valiant struggled to ignore the emptiness in his belly and his soul. Creator knew, he had many regrets and sins to atone for, but none so much as his failure to return to England to marry Mary Ainsworth.
Even now, he couldn’t forget the first time he’d seen her in a St. James’s Square courtyard. It mattered not that she’d worn a borrowed gown that was way too big for her. To him, she’d been pretty, shy, and sad because she’d recently lost her parents in an accident.
Oddly, he thought of the scruffy dog that’d followed her everywhere. Charlie had been loyal, friendly, often guiding Mary because she’d frequently misplace her spectacles. Where was she now, he wondered? Was she still in England with the Blakemores? Was she still alive?
Unable to breathe, he tried to sit up just as cannons blasted the ship. God’s teeth, pain ricocheted through his broken body, the lick of saltwater burning his torn flesh. Certain he was about to die, he prayed for a miracle.
He never expected the roars of Abcynian panthers to be the answer.
How could it be? As far as he knew, he was the last of Abcynian kind on earth after their mortal enemies, the Saturians, slaughtered his family, friends, and Abcynian Guards.
Confused, he crawled from beneath the body he was chained to, becoming aware that the screams of his Saturian captors had faded behind voices he recognized.
“Gabriel, Caine, break the lock,” his brother commanded from above his prison.
“Adrian?” Valiant called out, hating that his voice was so weak, but needing to believe salvation had come.
“Valiant! Thank the Creator, you’re alive. Brace yourself, we’re coming for you,” Adrian warned a heartbeat before the hold was flooded with sunshine.
“Please tell me you’re not a ghost, brother,” he cried, having to shield his eyes from the bright light flooding the hold.
“I am real. Hold tight, Val. We’re almost there.”
“Not going anywhere.” Despite being blinded by sunshine, Valiant was certain his brother had been joined by two others who worked to remove bodies and chains.
“What the hell happened in here?” came a gruff voice that sounded like Garrick Forrester.
“Garrick?”
“Ryder Sanborn, but close enough. Easy now. Gabriel and I need to get these chains off.”
“Gabriel! Is she alive? Is Mary still alive?”
“My sister’s alive and well. Long story. We’ll get there, pal.”
Pal? What did that mean? “She’s safe?”
“Wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true. Here, wear this. It’ll block the sun from your eyes.”
Some sort of hat came to the top of his head, the softness of it unexpected, yet it felt as right as the crown of blond hair he’d once worn to signify his heirdom to a throne he’d never thought he wanted until he couldn’t have it anymore.
“Gabriel, last chain, right here. Shoot it, but don’t let the bullet hit my brother.”
“Trust me, Adrian, my aim is true.”
A shot pierced the shackle around his ankle, freeing him. Opening his eyes, he braced himself for the sting of sunshine, relieved when the hat blunted the impact.
Finally, Adrian knelt beside him, lifting Valiant into his arms. The jostling hurt like hell, but the pain meant he was alive. “My God, what have you been through?”
“Deaths, more than you can know—including yours.”
“I’m not dead, Val.”
“What of Elena and Mercedes, and Matias and Ricardo? The children?” he demanded, desperate to know the fate of his sisters and their mates.
“I’m sorry. They are gone.” Adrian’s voice was gruff.
“Our father?”
“Alive, but not the same. He’s with Garrick and Aisley now.”
“How can that be? I saw Garrick’s head on a Saturian pike. What of Hayden? I saw him, too.”
“It was probably Grayson, who could’ve been his twin. You were not wrong about Hayden. Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe.”
“I am now, Adrian. Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“We never did, and neither did Mary.”
Turning his head slowly, he saw familiar faces. Ryder Sanborn still had the sleek musculature of an Abcynian with the lineage of a leopard. Behind him, an unfamiliar man with shaggy russet hair stood ready to assist.
It was Gabriel Blakemore who stunned him the most. Gone was the attire of an English lord. Instead, he’d let his hair grow to his arse, wore an aged coat that fell to his ankles, and had a long gun strapped to his back.
“Why aren’t you dressed like a lord, Gabriel?”
“English titles are no longer my concern, nor my father’s.”
“What Gabriel’s trying to say is he went West after the war and became a cowboy,” Ryder rumbled.
Aware that they were moving, he clung to his brother, as part of him feared he’d wake up to find himself bound to dead bodies again. “Adrian, how long have I been gone?”
After a crazy pandemic year that seems to be stretching into the summer and beyond, I’ve some great news to share. I’ve got a new release coming soon! Not only is it new, the release is the finale of my paranormal historical series, The Abcynians, which is both very special to me as an author, but I have grown to love the three, yes, THREE, happily ever after stories within Valiance!
I cannot wait to share this book with you, and I’ll be glad to post the cover. Valiance, The Abcynians, Book V is currently in final line edits and I should have more about a release date soon. That said, I also had a release in the middle of the pandemic and while I was also taking classes remotely for paralegal certification, I’d meant to post information and links about Scandalous, The Abcynians, Book IV. It’s currently available at Amazon, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, and more! Below are the covers for Valiance! And, of course, Scandalous, including links to learn more.
Frances Stockton 